Contact information
Colleges
Alessandro Cavallo
DPhil student
The aim of my DPhil project is to better understand RUNX1 regulation in human developmental haematopoiesis, as well as leukaemia initiation. RUNX1 is a key transcription factor driving normal haematopoiesis, however it is also mutated or misregulated in numerous leukaemia types. Most of what we know about its regulation comes from mouse studies. In order to better understand human RUNX1 regulation and model haematopoiesis "in a dish", I will employ an in vitro haematopoietic differentiation system starting from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The project will not solely focus on RUNX1 regulation: in fact, in vitro-differentiated as well as primary haematopoietic cells will be characterised genome-wide, at the level of gene expression and regulation, by single cell -omics approaches.
Prior to Oxford, I received a BSc in Marine Biology from the University of Plymouth (including a placement year at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge), and an MRes in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences from Imperial College London.
Recent publications
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Evolutionary conservation and divergence of the transcriptional regulation of bivalve shell secretion across life-history stages
Journal article
Cavallo A. et al, (2022), Royal Society Open Science, 9
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Dynamic Runx1 chromatin boundaries affect gene expression in hematopoietic development.
Journal article
Owens DDG. et al, (2022), Nat Commun, 13
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Lipid storage patterns in marine copepods: environmental, ecological, and intrinsic drivers
Journal article
Cavallo A. and Peck LS., (2020), ICES Journal of Marine Science, 77, 1589 - 1601
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Molecular mechanisms underpinning transgenerational plasticity in the green sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris
Journal article
Clark MS. et al, (2019), SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 9